Press release

Amazon teams up with New York City and State colleges to launch pathway to cloud computing jobs

LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and SUNY will work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a certificate program enabling tens of thousands of students with the opportunity to land entry-level, New York-based tech roles in the cloud computing industry

AWS will provide LAGCC, CUNY, and SUNY faculty with professional development, such as curriculum development workshops and AWS trainings; students will be eligible to receive membership to AWS Educate, which provides hands-on experience with leading cloud technology and tools at no cost

This is part of Amazon’s broader workforce development and training initiatives for local residents across New York, ahead of the company’s development of its new headquarters in the city

NEW YORK—Jan. 30, 2019—Amazon today announced that it will work with LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), the City University of New York (CUNY), and the State University of New York (SUNY) to create a cloud computing certificate program for students across New York – enabling students in the region to learn skills for entry-level tech roles, whether at Amazon or other tech companies. The cloud computing initiative is expected to be available in fall 2019 to the tens of thousands of students who attend LAGCC, CUNY, and SUNY, and is part of Amazon’s broader workforce development and training initiatives for local residents across New York.

Cloud computing—which delivers vast data capacity to organizations of all shapes and sizes without requiring expensive on-site servers—is an exciting place to build a successful career, with LinkedIn highlighting cloud and distributed computing as the #1 in-demand global skill for the past four years in a row. Cloud computing also opens a world of opportunity for students in one of the highest paying IT fields. The local demand for cloud computing talent is increasing in New York City – the broader occupational forecast estimates an increase of 17% for these roles by 2024*.

“As we continue to expand our presence in New York, we’re excited to work with the community to provide more opportunities for skills development,” said Ardine Williams, VP of Workforce Development at Amazon. “There is such rich talent in New York, and we want to ensure we’re reaching New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds, as we hire for 25,000 jobs across the region. We see this collaboration with LAGCC, CUNY, and SUNY as ensuring that more students have the opportunity to join companies like Amazon as we seek out more tech talent. This is the beginning of our workforce development efforts in New York – we’re looking forward to launching more initiatives to meet New Yorkers where they are, providing opportunities for new skill sets and even better paying jobs.”

“LaGuardia’s students represent a singularly unique talent pipeline for Amazon—they have a diversity of life experiences that have prepared them to contribute to and develop the next-generation of consumer and enterprise technologies. We will work closely with our community, including Queensbridge public housing residents and organizations such as Urban Upbound, to secure funding for this program,” said LaGuardia Community College President Gail O. Mellow. “We are interested in collaborating with AWS, and any tech company, that recognizes the inherent business, cultural and technical skills that students from our community bring to the workplace.”

“CUNY is deeply committed to providing students with access to programs that will equip them to thrive in an ever-evolving workplace," said CUNY’s Interim Chancellor Vita C. Rabinowitz. "As industries have discovered the value of cloud computing to enable innovation, the demand for workers skilled in its deployment has ballooned. We are pleased to work with Amazon and SUNY in this effort -- the first of what we expect will be numerous career development initiatives -- and to prepare our diverse pool of students for jobs in this burgeoning field.”

“At SUNY, we are pleased to offer a path for more New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds to careers at Amazon and other emerging industries across the state,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “Education and training are clearly key to developing a talented workforce, and by working with Amazon Web Services, our colleagues at CUNY, and our respective campuses, we will develop specific programs online and in our classrooms. The cloud computing certificate is the first step toward this end, and we look forward to the launch of this credential in 2019.”

As part of this collaboration between the AWS Educate program and LAGCC, CUNY, and SUNY, students in the region will have access to a cloud computing certificate as soon as fall 2019. LAGCC will also partner with at least one high school in New York City to offer concurrent enrollment in the 15-credit certificate program and other support.

AWS Educate will provide LAGCC, CUNY, and SUNY faculty with professional development opportunities, such as curriculum development workshops and AWS trainings. All students will also be eligible to receive membership in the AWS Educate program, which provides opportunities to gain hands-on experience with leading cloud technology and tools at no cost to the student. Through AWS Educate, students have access to AWS Promotional Credits for use with real-world, project-based assignments; instructional content and activities; micro-credentials; and the AWS Educate Job Board for direct hiring by AWS, members of the Amazon Partner Network, and AWS customers in NYC and around the globe.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About Amazon Web Services

For over 12 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 125 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 57 Availability Zones (AZs) within 19 geographic regions around the world, spanning the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the UK. AWS services are trusted by millions of active customers around the world—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—to power their infrastructure, make them more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.